Catching up: Jeff Osterman, USF

About every two weeks Coach Osterman pops up in our inboxes with his Overtime Basketball Newsletter. A great way to make the most of your coffee break or lunch break, send a quick email to osterman@usf.edu to sign up! The Coaching Assist interviewed Coach Osterman just over a year ago and you can read the post HERE.

Each season comes with a chance to reaffirm what is important and to refocus. For the 2017-2018 season, Osterman is making a concerted effort to stress the fundamentals. On and off the court he aims to keep teaching while also lifting up and motivating those who he interacts with. We caught up with Coach Osterman this fall and got a look at what he’s up to and what he’s reading!

Aside from helping your team grow and be successful, do you have any personal/professional goals for this year?

In addition to all that he does to grow the game, Osterman is also an active WBCA member. “I want to keep connecting with more peers. This year I am a WBCA Mentor – (https://wbca.org/connect/coach-coach-mentoring-program) so I would really love to have a positive impact on the 4 young coaches in my group.”

In Osterman’s last interview, he talked about the “never eat alone” philosophy and how he tries to meet up with other coaches on recruiting trips to learn. Since that first interview he has gotten his newsletter up and running!

“I now have a bi-weekly basketball Newsletter that goes out to about 8000 coaches all over the world – I’d love to keep growing it so I am always asking people for an email so I can add them … I am truly a ‘Lifetime Learner’ and I am always looking at new things and seeing how I can benefit from them.”

Any favorite/new books/resources you’d like to share with readers?

Legacy by James Kerr

What Drives Winning by Brett Ledbetter

How Full Is Your Bucket for Kids by Tom Rath

Big Book of Belichick by Alex Kirby

Always Sharing. Running into Osterman on the recruiting trail you can count on him to drop some knowledge on the baseline. Here are some extra Podcast recommendations he passed along on the road:

Whistle & a Clipboard

Hardwood Hustle

Coaching for Leaders

EntreLeadership

CoachingU

Bill Simmons

How do you continue to keep your bench engaged and developing so that they can hopefully contribute at some point?

“We actually have an extra camera that films our bench to make sure that they are engaged during games.

“We tell them to have fun and make it a zoo.”

We will show clips of them in our team film sessions and will publically thank and acknowledge whenever possible.”

Think about the greatest mentors that you’ve had: What have they done to help push you to be successful?

“Push, confront, encourage, challenge, reflect.”

Here are some examples:

Think outside the box – per your team what are their weaknesses and how would you exploit them?

Prepare to be the smartest person in the room, but also know that you may not be

Reflect daily – learn from shortcomings and you raise the bar for others to meet.

You become everybody’s standard

Follow Coach Osterman on Twitter @coachosterman and visit his website at CoachOsterman.com!